Audio should be considered early in title development or your product will
suffer from sound being thought of L.A.S.T. (Late Audio Sounds Terrible).
This problem is well known among computer title composers and may be a
holdover from film scoring. In film work, it is best to score only to a
final cut. In the interactive title business, audio has historically been
in third place, behind game-play and graphics. Both content providers and
project managers need to remain committed to great audio since the 3DO
platform allows for a rich sound environment and titles lacking good audio
miss out on an important element of a multimedia presentation.
Content providers need to listen to the requirements of everyone else
involved in the title. How much RAM is available? Do team members want
audio in a certain format (SR, mono/stereo, compressed, 16-bit or 8-bit)?
Project managers in turn need to set clear guidelines and veto rights on
audio approval. Auditioning of new audio material needs to be handled
consistently. Try to bring in new material in a similar way and ask that
team members pay close attention as you audition new sound effects or
music. Here are some tips:
Never allow the rejection of uninstalled music and sound
effects. Magic happens when pictures fit with sounds.
Keep in mind that the frame size of the picture to which audio is
synchronized influences people's opinions. For example, if you are
auditioning audio for an eventual Cinepac sequence, using Premier to
synchronize audio to a QuickTime movie, people may think the audio is too
powerful for the movie, because of the tiny QuickTime window on a
Macintosh monitor.
Consider using a paper form to track project progress. In-house
developers at The 3DO Company "Audio Request, Status, and Critiques Form,"
shown in the hardcopy version of this documentation, to facilitate this.